Tuesday, January 04, 2005

The good work at Corvallis High School gets noticed by Northwest Labs.

Phil and his colleagues at Corvallis High School, most notably Art Rzaza, have created “Classroom without Walls:

Students apply for the program in January, and the eight-day trip takes place the following July. In between, students incorporate language arts, science, and social studies into a thorough, meaningful study of the place they will visit. Each student is required to create a specific lesson plan that culminates in a peer teaching session and the creation of audiovisual teaching materials that can be used in other district classrooms. While on the trip itself, they’re required to haul a 40-pound pack, cook their own meals, and camp in tents in places like the Beartooth Mountains, the Wind River Range, and the Sawtoothsâ€”beautiful, rugged wilderness areas that form the most breathtaking classrooms one can imagine.

According to Phil, “This is a very dynamic place, with talented, creative people. Sarah encourages people to integrate all aspects of their lives into their teaching and to teach to their passions. For me, it’s reinvigorated my career. It’s given a meaning and a sense of purpose to my job.”

Art was funded by the Heritage Project early in the history of Classroom without Walls. Phil, of course, is one of the mainstays of the Heritage Project, a reliable source of passion for intellectual rigor and meaningful results.